Again and Again
by Read-Them-On
Summary: "USE HIDDEN POWER WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT OR, MESPRIT HELP ME, YOU'RE IN FOR IT!" Dawn's past still haunts her, but he is there to help her. Not only him, but a little bundle of joy as well. Ikarishipping one-shot! Rated T for certain subtle hints.


**Hey, all! I'm back with another story!**

 **Me: This one is an Ikarishipping one-shot, requested by ObeliskX! **

**Dawn: Do the disclaimer, Paul.**

 **Paul: No. *mumbles* Troublesome.**

 **Dawn: WHY YOU LITTLE-**

 **Me: Okay, guys, fight later. Do the disclaimer, Dawn.**

 **Dawn: Yay! Read-Them-On doesn't own** **Pokémon or the characters! Except Angela, though I don't know who that is . . .**

 **Me: You'll find out. On with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

It was a fine, sunny day for a picnic, but every person in Twinleaf Town – from a child to an old fellow – was in the arena, watching the intense battle. It was a brand new thing for the people in the town to see their most hard-core trainer in a tight spot until that moment. After all, Dawn Berlitz won every single challenge that came on the doorstep of Twinleaf and they hoped she was going to win this one as well, thought it wasn't looking like that at the moment; every time an attack landed on the blunette's Pokémon, sharp _No'_ s could be heard from the crowd.

Dawn meanwhile grunted, as her Pachirisu fainted. She flipped her hair back in anger, nearly ripping them from her head. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the pokéball tightly. Now they both were on their last Pokémon.

"Mamoswine!"

Her yell was drowned by another louder one as Mamoswine screamed in vigor, coming out of the thrown pokéball.

"Mamoswine! Use Ice Shard!" Dawn's eyes were focused on the battle completely. She was adamant to win this one as well, no matter what it took.

"Froslass! Counter with Ice Shard!" He yelled from the other side of the battlefield, his hands _clapping_ for the ice-type. The sharp ice-cones clashed with each other, shattering in a millions of pieces.

 _Freaking clapping trainer,_ Dawn thought, _Freaking Paul Shinji._

Yep. Paul Shinji: the one known for his smile and ( _yuck_ ) handsomeness all around Sinnoh.

"Well done, Froslass!" Paul cheered, his prune-colored hair shining in the sun, "Now it's my turn to attack, Dawn! Froslass, use Ice beam!"

Froslass did as she was told to, concentrating and the ice in a ball and then zapping it towards the opponent.

"Mamoswine, dodge!" She knew it was a hopeless case. He wasn't fast enough; after all it comes with the huge body.

The crowd went "NO!" again.

Dawn lost it.

She seethed in anger as Mamoswine struggled to get out from its cold cage. Her jawbone hurt from gritting her teeth so much but she didn't care. Everyone thought that she was about to lose and she wasn't going to let it actually happen.

"MAMOSWINE!" She yelled and the crowd gasped, "BREAK THROUGH IT BY USING ICE FANG!" She looked over to the other side of the field and could see that Paul was scared; not because he knew that the table was going to turn the next moment, but because he didn't know what was going to happen to Froslass.

Something in her heart flickered but she didn't stop.

"USE HIDDEN POWER WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT OR, MESPRIT HELP ME, YOU'RE IN FOR IT!" This probably helped (or frightened) him, for he created such _huge_ emerald orbs of Hidden Power that it made an ominous glow all over the field. She smirked but it didn't feel right anymore.

It wasn't.

Paul Shinji jumped in front of Froslass, tears in his eyes.

Dawn's own eyes grew wide as he . . .

* * *

"NO!"

The scream seemed to shake the whole house as Dawn Shinji jolted up in a sitting position with sweat beads clinging on her forehead, while she herself clutched the silk bed sheets in her fists.

She looked around and finally noticed that she was in her own bed in her own house, close to the love of her life, who was snoring quietly at the moment.

Her sigh of relief was pretty shaky as she grasped the air besides her, hoping to get a hold of her water bottle on the nightstand. After a few attempts, she finally caught it and gulped down the entire bottle. As she sat on the bed, still breathing heavily, her thoughts went back to the dream.

No. Not dream. The _nightmare_.

A shudder went down her spine; if she hadn't woken up when she fortunately did, he would've . . .

"No. Stop it, Dawn," she said to herself in a whisper, "He's all right and _right_ there besides you."

Paul shuffled under the sheets slightly, probably hearing her; he _was_ a light sleeper after all. And she was kinda glad for that particular habit if his; it did save them before when . . .

She mentally slapped herself.

And at the next moment, he had his head turned back and was looking at her with half-lidded eyes.

"Come one, Troublesome," Paul mumbled groggily, "Go back to sleep."

Even after all these years, he called her by that nickname. She rolled her eyes, almost involuntarily.

She said nothing in response, which might have worried him, as he turned towards her and propped himself up on his elbow.

"What is it?"

She sighed, placing her head in her hands, and massaged her temples.

"Nightmare."

"Oh."

" _The_ nightmare, Paul. _That_ one. Again and Again."

This made him sit up properly.

"The one where you are the heartless trainer and I am the happy-go-lucky one?" he asked, his eyes reflecting rare mirth. She knew he was trying to make her cheerful.

Too bad she didn't share his amusement, for if she did, they would've laughed together for minutes at a time, talking about it till late in the morning. But this was one of those times when she just _wasn't_ up for even a smile.

He sighed and she felt him shuffle until he had his arms around her in an embrace with her body pressed against his bare chest.

"I know it's not easy for us to simply forget it, Dawn," he spoke with a gravely voice, and she knew he was genuinely sad for her, "But I'm trying. And you should, too."

This made her angry. She broke away from his hug, instantly missing the warmth.

"I'm trying, Paul. I'm trying _so_ hard," she grabbed her head again, "But it hurts, Paul. All of that. We were lucky to get out of there alive; all of us. I . . . I couldn't have lived if _any_ of us had died!"

That was when the she lost control and let sobs dominate herself. Every inch of her being hurt.

"Dawn, listen to me," his voice was firm, but he kept his distance, "I'll always be there for you, no matter what. And you know it's taking me a lot of energy to get these words out. But . . . But curse me if I'm wrong, we need each other. Now, I'm leaving the final choice to you. We can do this together, or not at all."

She knew it was the truth.

A split second later, she was hugging him fiercely, pinning him to the headboard of their bed, sobbing in the crook of his neck. His hands moved from their crossed position to her head and back, rubbing both in a soothing motion. He definitely wasn't the physical type, but living with someone like _his_ Troublesome for six _married_ years did that to you.

Finally, her crying stopped and he wiped away the remnant tear-trails as gently as he could.

She smiled up at him and he knew that she had only needed a shoulder to cry on this time. This confirmed his theory that – slowly – she was healing. _They_ were healing.

It only made her smile grew wider when a bubbling bundle of bounded up to them from her room across the hall.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Paul smiled and kissed little Angela Shinji on the tip of her nose as the girl giggled.

"Famiwe hug!" Dawn cooed in a baby voice, making their daughter squeal and Paul laugh as he gathered them both in a giant cuddle.

And even if in the back of her mind the nightmare throbbed painfully, she smiled, not caring for once.

Her thoughts were a jumble, but one stood out clear: _She'd be glad to have this nightmare again and again if she could have her family in the end._

 _Because every nightmare was worth it._

* * *

"Troublesome?"

"Mm?"

"Now that Angel's in her bedroom, sound asleep . . . and we are awake . . ."

"I know what you're getting at, Paul."

"So can we?"

"No."

"But Dawnnnn! Come on!"

"Why does this happen again and again, every time? . . . Ugh. Fine."

"Hallelujah."

* * *

 **Me: Paul was a bit OOC but we need him to be for romance and a bit of humor, right? How was it?  
**

 **Paul: It was-**

 **Me: Don't answer, Paul. We all know you don't like anything or anyone, except Dawn. But READERS, wanna know what happened to the** ** **Pokémon** crew before this story? I can do a kinda prequel to this. If you wanna solve the mystery, REVIEW! Ask for the prequel, and I'll do one!  
**

 **Dawn: See ya!**


End file.
